Profiles

Matthew Nathanson earned his LLB from UBC in 1997 and is now a practicing criminal defence lawyer in Vancouver, as well as an active volunteer and mentor for students at Allard Law. 

Matthew knew he wanted to become a lawyer at a very early age. His father is a lawyer, so Matthew’s interest in the law was sparked by early family conversations around the dinner table about the law. 

“I’ve been wanting to be a lawyer since I was a kid. Nobody in my family or relatives were shocked whatsoever when I became a lawyer…People want to be cops, firemen, others asked me ‘What do you wanna be?’ ‘I wanna be a lawyer.’ I always did. – TJ Dhillon, Coca-Cola delivery trucker, real estate lawyer, car enthusiast, immigrant, father, Class of 1997. 

Evelyn Ackah is the founder and managing lawyer at Ackah Business Immigration Law, which currently has offices in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto. People and relationships are at the heart of Evelyn’s work, which is why she’s so passionate about immigration law. Learn more about Evelyn, her work and what inspires her.

You graduated from law school in 1997. Looking back now, what would you say was the highlight of your time here?

The Allard School of Law is pleased to welcome Professor Debra Parkes to the faculty. Professor Parkes will be joining us on July 1, 2016 as the Chair in Feminist Legal Studies and Director of the Centre for Feminist Legal Studies. 

A proud member of the Gitxsan Nation, Bill Lomax (LLB ’97) has dedicated his career to improving the economic prospects and well-being of Indigenous communities. After receiving his undergraduate and law degrees at the University of British Columbia, Bill furthered his education with an MBA from Columbia University. 

After growing up in Kingston, Ontario and earning a bachelor’s degree in political science from McGill University, James Reid knew he wanted to go to law school and knew he wanted to do it on the West Coast. “I was so excited to be in Vancouver. Just the vibe of Vancouver—it felt very new and fresh,” he said. “It just felt, at least at that time, like it was the place to be … young people like me just seemed to be moving there.” 

Often our career follows a very windy path. Despite an early interest in law, Allard Law alum Melanie Ash (LLB ’96) questioned her career choices many times along the way.  Today, she has figured out exactly where she needs to be. 

Victoria Shroff is credited as being one of the first and longest serving animal law lawyers in Canada. In addition to running her Vancouver-based law firm Shroff & Associates, Victoria has served as an adjunct professor at the Allard School of Law, teaching the animal law seminar. Victoria is often approached by the media to comment on animal law issues and is the founder of a social literacy and animal law program called 'Paws of Empathy’. 

Michaela Donnelly, KC (LLB ‘96) is senior trial counsel with the BC Prosecution Service (BCPS), specializing in major crime prosecutions, such as homicides and dangerous-offender applications. She is a recognized expert on issues related to not criminally responsible by reason of mental disorder, providing training for lawyers, police and other justice system participants. 

Bruce MacDougall joined the Allard School of Law as Assistant Professor in 1988, and was an Associate Professor from 1996 to 2002. He has been a Professor of a Law since 2002, and teaches in the areas of Commercial Law, Corporations Law, Contract Law and Human Rights Law. Professor MacDougall studied at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar and served as a Law Clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada for Mr. Justice Gerald Le Dain from 1986 to 1987. 

E. Louise Logan, Class of 1996, saw the potential of public policy to ignite positive social change before even attending her first class at UBC’s law school. “The power of the law and the power of public policy to both cause harm and to ameliorate” not only inspired Louise to law attend school, it has also motivated her two-decade career in public policy. 

Melanie Ash served as General Counsel to the New York City Racial Justice Commission from May 2021- December 2022, on loan from the New York City Law Department where she was recently promoted to Deputy Chief of the Affirmative Litigation Division. As GC she oversaw the development of proposals to amend the NYC Charter to begin to uproot structural racism in NYC government.

I am a member of the Haida Nation and a member of the Raven Clan. In our oral traditions, Raven was Originally white. There are days and days of stories of Raven as he ... haphazardly brings the world into existence as we know it. Through that process he steals the sun and the moon from their caretakers, flies through the smoke hole in the longhouse and brings light to the world. And when he flew through the smoke hole, he became black.

Darwin Hanna is one of the named partners of Aboriginal law firm Callison & Hanna, a firm specializing in Aboriginal law that was founded in 1996 by Hanna and his wife, Cynthia Callison. For Hanna, the journey to starting his own law firm began with his undergraduate studies in criminology. Hanna was attracted to criminology in part because he saw the potential for a fulfilling career, and enrolled in a joint-degree criminology program with Douglas College and Simon Fraser University (SFU) upon graduating from high school in Maple Ridge.

Cynthia Callison is a member of the Crow Clan in the Tahltan Nation whose traditional territory is the Stikine River Watershed in northwestern British Columbia. Callison travels often with her family to Tahltan territory, an approximately 22-hour drive from Vancouver. “In my community, we are able to continue the practice of food fishing, hunting, and gathering. My father has ensured that we can survive on the land." 

"Issues of poverty and social class, both domestically and globally, have always been especially close to my mind, perhaps because of my upbringing," explained Professor Okafor, whose father was also a lawyer and a labour activist. "He always rallied to such causes and spoke to us about them. And my mother, through her work as a secondary school teacher and community worker, also propagated similar ideas and imbued them in us."

Jason Tolland (LLB ‘95) and Robert Brookfield (LLB ’95) met at law school and competed together in the Jessup Moot - twice! They both went on to private practice before shifting to public service, served as diplomats, and now both work in international trade. When we asked if they’d be interested in talking to us, they asked to do so together, and we’re excited to share their interesting and complementary journeys.

You both did the Jessup Moot together twice – tell me about that experience. 

Nikos Harris is an experienced appellate counsel and award-winning Lecturer at the Allard School of Law. He describes his recent experience as co-counsel, with Eric Gottardi, for the Canadian Bar Association which intervened in the Supreme Court of Canada case of R. v. Nur. This decision addresses the use of mandatory minimum sentences for firearms offences in Canada.

Siobhan Sams is a graduate of the LLB class of 1995 and currently practices as an Associate at Harper Grey LLP (“Harper Grey”) in Vancouver. Her legal career has involved a fascinating array of concentrations and has taken her around the globe. Sams currently works in the Commercial Litigation Group at Harper Grey with a focus on product liability, particularly in the context of aviation. 

Photo of Tania Tomaszewska by Jon Adrian.